Māori households assembling precarious leisure

Abstract

Many members of the precariat in Aotearoa/New Zealand (NZ) struggle to access resources for leisure. This article draws on four interview waves with five precariat Māori (Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa/NZ) households (N = 32 interviews) using mapping and photo-elicitation interviews to explore participant leisure engagements. We document how precarious leisure for some Māori is assembled agentively by participants out of key elements associated with their situations (e.g. financial and housing insecurities) and core Māori principles and processes of whanaungatanga (cultivating positive relationships) and manaakitanga (caring for self and others). Participant accounts foregrounded the importance of mātauranga Māori (systems of knowledge) and culture in shaping contemporary leisure practices that can promote a sense of ontological security, place, belonging, connection, cultural continuity, and self as Māori. Though beneficial to self and others, participant leisure practices are rendered insecure by the resource restraints of life in the precariat.